nadarasjewel

Hi everyone,
I just set up a 10 gal and decided to get some guppies. Right now i have 4, all females because i hear they breed faster than bunnies do! lol
Anyway, one of the guppies i brought home is much bigger than the other three. They're fast swimmers so unfortunately the only photo i got is pretty bad quality. Do you think she looks pregnant? Is there a specific way to tell? I have a couple bettas and i'm new to guppies. Thanks for your advice!

Attached Images

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agabr123

can you see a gravid spot?

COBettaCouple

She might be older than the others, but if she was ever in a tank with males, then she's pregnant.

nadarasjewel

yes i believe i can see a gravid spot, a really dark black spot right behind her belly almost and at the pet store she was definitely in with atleast one other male.
I have her in with all females because i really dont have any room for fry. if she is pregnant what should I do? do i have to get a breeding trap of some sort?
i have never bred fish before.

agabr123

if you don't have room for the fry and don't want to keep them, then you really don't have to do anything different. just leave her in the tank as is, she'll eventually drop the fry, and they either get eaten or some might survive.

nadarasjewel

and if i decide to try and 'save' some of the fry? when should I put the mother into a separate tank? how do i know when she's close to giving birth?

Cordi

when she hides somewhere.

they tend to hide whilst they are giving birth, be it in a cave, in plants.. also in the corner of the tank if there's nowhere else to go.

if you move her when she's giving birth she might abort which is bad for the fry since they may die before being born (had this happen many times, thank god).

if you want to keep the fry alive then your best bet is to get some elodia plants and plant them together in 1 area, this will give them somewhere to hide from those who would be licking their lips

COBettaCouple

Lots of plants, caves, floating guppy grass and flat glass marbles over the gravel all help fry have hiding spots to live in until they get big enough to come out more. Crushing the food while they're in the tank gives them more to eat.

nadarasjewel

thank you for your responses.
i have a spare 2g tank that i could put the mother in, she's not swimming around very much and is hanging around one corner of the tank. does this mean shes going to drop fry soon? should i put her in the other tank?

COBettaCouple

That does sound like she's getting ready to drop soon, in which case I wouldn't move her. The stress of changing tanks within a week of dropping fry can be pretty hard on livebearers.

SammyJ

If she has not started to drop yet you could put her in a breeding trap within the same tank. Then transfer the fry to another tank. That will reduce the stress on the female as she is not having to adapt to new water conditions. Then you just take the breeder trap fry and all over to the 2 gallon when she is done. The fry are small enough a plastic cup will suffice to move them.